We are bicycle commuters in the city of Fort Wayne, Indiana. This is our effort to raise awareness of bicycle commuters, encourage more people to get on their bikes, and identify issues pertaining to those of us who use a bicycle for transportation.

Monday, January 31, 2011

Today, as I was waiting to turn left onto Crescent, one of my colleagues, J. passed by. As I was waiting for the light at State Blvd. and Crescent another colleague, T honks at me as he turned left onto Crescent. I rode up the elevator with T and J told me that he arrived 45 seconds before me. Stroke that ego FWBC. Ahhhhhright.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Get ready to join a community conversation about the future. The challenge: What should we do with the Fort Wayne Community Trust and City Light Lease Settlement funds?

Created by Mayor Tom Henry, Legacy Fort Wayne is a community initiative to guide decision making about the uses of these extraordinary resources. The Legacy Fort Wayne Task Force, made up of 15 civic leaders, has been invited to direct the effort. As this five-month process unfolds, the Task Force will investigate options, engage our entire city and make recommendations to the Mayor.

The centerpiece of Legacy Fort Wayne is community involvement. It’s where you can take part. From public forums to online tools allowing you to suggest projects, express opinions and vote for your preferences, we want you to participate in this once-in-a-lifetime initiative.

So start thinking about your hopes and dreams, your goals and priorities for Fort Wayne. Every idea is important.

Help shape our Legacy Fort Wayne.

If you go Here you can vote on ideas of how to use the windfall of cash that the Fort is getting from AEP. I put in Pedestrian and Bicycle Infrastructure as a category. It has one vote so far. Help FWBC out here people! Use your votes on something you believe in.

SB0353Thanks again to Senator John Broden of South Bend Indiana for authoring a bill in the current legislative session which if enacted, will help make our roadways safer for all bicyclists. This bill is currently assigned to the committee on Homeland Security, Transportation & Veteran Affairs which is chaired by Senator Tom Wyss of Fort Wayne Indiana. Call to action: Contact Senator Wyss and ask him to hear SB0353 in his committee. Contact your legislators and ask them to support this bill. If you have any questions, please send them to info@bicycleindiana.org or call 317-466-9701. Read the abridged version of the bill here: SB0353

PLEASE take the time to review the bill and if you want cars to be required to be three feet from you, contact this public servant and tell him what you want.

You might say, "How can you even enforce this?" Well let me tell you, if someone hits you, at least they would get the driver on something!! Because right now, there isn't much protecting you out there.

Other Cities are slowing traffic down and putting streets on "road diets", also putting in bike infrastructure.It is to our benefit that Fort Wayne has done some of this as well. This is a great article because it gets you all thinking about roads, the way that they are built and what the purpose is. Is the purpose to move cars and trucks as fast as possible? In many cases that is true. If you have a concern about your ability to bike on the streets then I suggest that you contact your councilperson and let them know what is important to you.Traffic planners still putting speed above safety

By Daniel Shoer Rothdshoer@elnuevoherald.comIn recent years, the priority of transportation planners and engineers who design South Florida's roads and freeways has been to move as much motorized traffic as rapidly as possible, be it on a major highway or on a street running through a city's downtown area, even on residential neighborhoods. That explains why in every corner of Miami Dade County, roads are under repair or expansion -- and crushing everyone's patience. It's yet another way of keeping us hostages to our cars.

But a heated brawl between state transportation officials and residents on Brickell Avenue, the spine of Miami's densest pedestrian district, could serve as a sketch for urban planners to stop the thoughtless acceleration of road development.

The residents' wish is not to make Brickell a strictly pedestrian boulevard, since traffic is essential to move and promote economic development. Their goal is to have the road integrate elements for everyone traveling along it, considering the needs not only of motor vehicles, but also of pedestrians, disabled people, cyclists and transit passengers, as has been done in other big cities where planning policies are sensitive to the community.The rest of the story

This week, the new Republican majority in the House of Representatives adopted a new set of rules for the way the House runs – rules which threaten to undermine funding for our nation’s critical infrastructure needs.

Under these rules, the new Republican majority will enact a draconian budget without a single hearing, without any input from the Budget Committee, without any outreach to Congressional Democrats, and without a direct vote by the House of Representatives. Merely by entering a statement into the record, the Budget Chairman can subject all spending beyond whatever levels he deems appropriate to a point of order. This level of concentrated authority runs contrary to the premise of transparency that Republicans campaigned on, and, given its disregard for scrutiny, runs the risk of greatly damaging our infrastructure, our economy and the welfare of millions.

The rules themselves make a mockery of prudent budgeting. While the Republican rhetoric has been laudable in some instances, their “Cut-as-you-go” rule is riddled with loopholes. For instance, it allows tax cuts for corporations to be deficit financed, while programs like child tax credits must find offsets. In fact, these rules forbid eliminating even the narrowest special interest tax loophole to find revenue for effective government programs.

The most casual glance at the origin of this country’s debts illustrates the fallacy of their approach. These rules make it possible to make permanent the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts for the highest-income taxpayers without finding a dime to offset the cost to our nation. The rules also allow the Republican majority to ignore the cost of repealing the Affordable Care Act, which not only saves nearly $150 billion during the next 10 years, but reduces healthcare costs by nearly a trillion dollars during the following decades.

In no way do these rules result in the type of prudent budgeting that my Republican colleagues campaigned on, nor does it resemble anything like what any hardworking American family must do. At a time when the Republican majority is pledging greater openness, the rules are also anti-democratic by depriving 600,000 taxpaying D.C. residents of their ability to have their voice heard in the Committee of the Whole.

Most importantly for readers of this site, the rules package undermines opportunities to continue investing in America.

By eliminating the point of order guarding Highway Trust Fund balances, this Republican majority threatens investments in communities large and small across the country. Historically, this point of order ensured that Congress delivered on the transportation investments promised in the transportation authorization, and that states and communities could count on the long-term commitments made in that legislation. By removing this point of order, and allowing Highway Trust Fund balances to accrue and mask the actual deficit, the Republicans are engaging in budget gimmickry that undermines our economy and the safety of our communities.

Organizations from the Chamber of Commerce to the American Association of Highway Transportation Officials have expressed their strong concern about destabilizing transportation funding, and have urged the Republican Conference to make changes. I join with these organizations in expressing my concern and disappointment.

At a time when the need to invest in our communities is higher than ever, these rules will make it possible for the Republican Congress to decrease our investment in infrastructure, undermining efforts to rebuild and renew communities across the country. In addition to the new rule regarding the Highway Trust Fund, these Republican rules also limit the ability of the House to raise revenue for the Highway Trust Fund. At a time when our needs are greater than ever, and individuals and organizations across the country are calling on Congress to upgrade our nation’s roads, bridges, and transit systems, limiting our options — as these Rules do — is shortsighted and foolhardy.

When will it be? Friday the 14th of January or Tomorrow.Will it be cold? YesWill it be fun? YesWill it be a workout? Maybe, we don't ride that fastWill we be on major roads? With all the snow we had? Yes.So get that bike out of the garage and come on out!

All parties are welcome to join and help bring common courtesy back to the streets. For those who need a refresher on what Critical Manners/Courteous Mass is, here is the deal:• The ride will respect and abide the city’s traffic laws.• Rides will be on the slow side to ensure no one is dropped and that the Mass stays a mass.• The Mass will only take up one lane, two when necessary for safety.• The ride will stop at red lights and stop signs. If a light turns red mid-mass, the riders who made the light should safely pull over to wait for those who were caught by the light.• Riders are asked to signal turns, call out danger, and communicate their intentions to other riders.

The goal of these rides is to be a visible and positive example of the cooperation that can exist between cars and bicycles when people respect the laws and each other. So join the Mass and help make Fort Wayne a better place for bicycles.This Friday at Lawton Park by the Softball Field. We meet at 6:15 and ride at 6:30

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

It is funny. Complete streets legislation is happening all over the place. In these economic times, cities around the country are choosing to make streets safer for all users. I was thinking about it on my way in because when the weather is like this, I truly have to take up a whole lane for my own safety.

Next time someone starts to talk to you about where bikes ought to be, tell them that they sound like a supporter of complete streets and that they should contact their councilperson.

Also, CM2 this week for all of you brave souls out there. We meet at 615 at Lawton Park. Won't be too long. Hope to see you.

Monday, January 10, 2011

You know it is interesting. In the winter everyone says it is too cold to bike to work. In the summer everyone says it is too hot/humid to bike to work. In the spring, it does rain so too wet to bike to work? Fall is definitely the best time of the year to bike. I have found that human nature usually causes us to not change things that are comfortable until we actually have to. Biking for transportation is not easy. That is a fact. But it is fun, gets you out into the un-climate controlled environment, and let's you keep in touch with your neighborhood while burning a few calories. The rewards are: better health, cleaner environment and cost savings. Try it for a few days in 2011. You will not regret it and who knows, maybe you will find the change to be a lasting one.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Why am I still regarded as a sideshow clown because I ride mybike to work? When I got in the elevator to go home the other day, two people that are managers in my division instantly start making snide comments about my gear or my clothes. I understand that I look different. I don't have the same uniform on (black wool overcoat) but c'mon, it's been like three years! They talk to me like I am a kid. Can you be treated like an adult if you use a bike for transport? Maybe not if you are in the Fort.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

I am going to pass this one one to one of my new favorite blogs, Big Oak Bikes, and let you read his post on the event. Overall it was pretty unorganized but fun. Like any good bike ride.Here is the video of the event. Everyone to the right of the people going into the river were either riding a motorcycle or a bicycle.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

So in a panic this morning I put it out there on the Twitter, the Facebook and the blog. I met new neighbors Katie and Nick. Belly found them last night and were walking around this morning order to find the owner. Yours truly. Thanks to them the old Lady is back. Happy new year to all. Chilly Challenge 1pm don't forget. Northside Park.